Repository logo

Browsing by Author "Riggs, Nathaniel, advisor"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Associations among mindfulness, self-compassion, and bullying in early adolescence
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Gonynor, Kelly Ann, author; Riggs, Nathaniel, advisor; Coatsworth, Doug, committee member; Crowley, John, committee member
    Bullying is defined as a particular kind of aggression that involves power imbalance and repeated intentionally harmful behavior directed toward another person. The negative effects of bullying include school dissatisfaction, depressive symptoms, and elevated risk of suicide attempts. Due to the negative effects of bullying, researchers continue to test factors associated with bullying. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among mindfulness, self-compassion, bullying perpetration, and bullying victimization. It was hypothesized that mindfulness and self-compassion would be significantly negatively associated with bullying perpetration and bullying victimization in middle school youth. One hundred and eighty-two 7th and 8th grade students completed pretest and posttest surveys. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted in SPSS to examine associations among mindfulness, self-compassion, bullying perpetration, and bullying victimization in middle school youth. Findings demonstrated that mindfulness was significantly negatively associated with bullying perpetration and victimization, such that more mindful youth were less likely to bully and be victims of bullying. Results also demonstrated that self-compassion was significantly negatively associated with bullying victimization, indicating more self-compassionate youth were less likely to be victims of bullying. These results highlight two potential protective factors against bullying perpetration and victimization. Next steps include investigating these relationships longitudinally and understanding implications for prevention and intervention work.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemEmbargo
    Evaluation of resilience in schools and educators (RISE): an adult-centered social-emotional learning program for K-12 educators
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Rossier, Chloe Z., author; Riggs, Nathaniel, advisor; MacPhee, David, committee member; Williford, Anne, committee member
    Educators' mental health and well-being has become imperative to address post the COVID-19 pandemic as the risk for burnout has increased (Jennings & Greenburg 2009; Schonert-Reichl, 2017; Oliveira et al., 2021). However, current research on adult-focused social-emotional learning (SEL) programs aimed at increasing educator well-being is still new (Oliveira et al., 2021). The present study examines the Resilience in Schools and Educator's program (RISE) program, developed by the Center for Resilience & Well-being, through the University of Colorado, Boulder, focusing on universal, school-based prevention specifically for educators (Fitzgerald et al., 2021). RISE aims to enhance educators' social-emotional competence (SEC), emotion-focused relationship skills and resilience. The goal of the current study was to confirm the factor structures of the three main constructs within the RISE logic model (e.g., Educator SEC, RISE Skills and Educator Well-being) and determine if there was meditation present between these constructs and program dosage on educator well-being. Results demonstrated that no direct associations were found between number of workshops (b = 0.002, SE = 0.007, p > 0.05) and number of coaching sessions (b = -0.007, SE = 0.006, p > 0.05) and educator well-being as well as no indirect associations between dosage and well-being mediated by Educators' SEC or RISE Skills. Future recommendations for the RISE program are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Evaluation of Speak Up!: a sexual violence prevention program for middle school youth
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Cornelis, Hope M., author; Riggs, Nathaniel, advisor; Haddock, Shelley, committee member; Winokur, Marc, committee member
    Sexual violence (SV) is a pervasive crime that disproportionately affects young people. Despite the need for SV prevention initiatives with young adolescents, a majority of documented efforts to understand and prevent SV have targeted college-aged individuals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Speak Up!, an intensive, school-based, gender-separated SV prevention program for middle school youth. The evaluation utilized pre and post-test data from 76 students, aged 11-15, who participated in Speak Up! during the 2014-2015 academic year. Participants completed self-report surveys, developed by the implementing organization, at baseline and immediately after the intervention. The survey measure assessed participants' adherence to unhealthy relationship/sexual norms, self-efficacy for bystander intervention, and rigidity in gender ideology. Main effects and moderating associations were examined using repeated measures analyses of covariance (RM ACOVAs) and Cohen's d effect size estimates comparing participants' pre and post-test mean scores. Results revealed significant improvements in participants' adherence to unhealthy relationship/sexual norms from pre to post-test, regardless of implementation modifications and gender. Additionally, findings indicated that girls showed greater pre-post changes on the outcomes than did boys (marginally significant). Although strong conclusions about program impact could not be derived due to study limitations, this study illuminates the promise of SV prevention with youth and the need for further exploration of how to effectively prevent SV with this population.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Mechanisms of growth: social-emotional learning and the PwrHrs program
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Boomsma, A'Lece J., author; Riggs, Nathaniel, advisor; Fruhauf, Christine, committee member; Portz, Jennifer, committee member
    Recent public education reform initiatives have emphasized student academic achievement, primarily in reading and mathematics. To meet the pressure these initiatives present, a growing number of schools have chosen to implement social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula and instruction to promote academic development. PwrHrs (pronounced "power hours") is an after-school initiative of YouthPower365, an organization, based in Avon, Colorado. PwrHrs seeks to enrich students' academic and social-emotional competence through supplemental academic tutoring and intentional SEL instruction. Past evaluations of the PwrHrs program have demonstrated through single-group pretest-posttest designs that PwrHrs youth have exhibited increases in reading, mathematics, and social-emotional competency. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of PwrHrs' social-emotional learning components on gains in PwrHrs participants' academic achievement. The study used a non-randomized control group comparison design including 567 participants enrolled in three area schools during the 2017-2018 school year. Pre-, mid-, and posttest data in reading and math, as well as math and reading report card grades, were examined for differences based on PwrHrs participation and amount of exposure to PwrHrs SEL instruction. Main program effects were examined using multiple regression, controlling for appropriate covariates. Results revealed a significant effect of PwrHrs SEL instruction on reading mid-test achievement; however, this was the only significant effect found. Although few significant results were revealed, this study informs future directions for PwrHrs program design and implementation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The effects of risk and protective factors on maltreatment for individuals with intellectual disability
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Pinks, Miranda E., author; Riggs, Nathaniel, advisor; Fidler, Deborah, committee member; Brown, Samantha, committee member
    Research consistently demonstrates that children with intellectual disability (ID) are at a higher risk for child maltreatment than typically developing children. While the relationship between child maltreatment and disability is well-established, no longitudinal studies have assessed families of children with ID for early risk and protective factors associated with later maltreatment. This study drew on data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) to examine children with ID in five samples across the U.S. who were at risk for abuse and neglect at an early age. The relationship between early risk and protective factors and maltreatment was explored through a series of regression analyses for children with and without ID. Results replicated the finding that children with ID experienced higher counts of child maltreatment than children without ID. Child behavior problems predicted later maltreatment counts for children with ID and without ID, and parenting stress predicted maltreatment only for children without ID. The findings indicate that at least some of the processes involved in child maltreatment are the same for children with and without ID, including child behavior problems. Future research should be devoted to better understanding why children with ID are more likely to experience maltreatment and higher counts of maltreatment allegations compared to children without ID.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The moderating role of social competence in the association between adolescent mental health symptomatology and substance use
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Boyd, Ciara E., author; Riggs, Nathaniel, advisor; Haddock, Shelley, committee member; Brown, Sami, committee member
    During adolescence, substance misuse and mental health problems often co-occur, yet there have been few studies testing for whom the association between mental health and substance use is the strongest. The purpose of this study was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the moderating role of social competence on the association between adolescent anxiety and depression symptomology and nicotine and cannabis use. This study used data from 3,383 ninth grade students who participated in the University of Southern California Health and Happiness study. Participants completed a self-report survey during the fall semester of the ninth grade. Main effects and moderating associations were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Results demonstrated significant associations between depressive symptomatology and lifetime nicotine and cannabis use, however, no significant associations were found between substance use and anxiety. Social competence as an independent variable was associated with cannabis and nicotine use, yet interaction terms were not associated with substance use. Results from this study suggest that both depression and social competence are uniquely associated with lifetime nicotine and cannabis use in adolescence. Therefore, substance use treatment programs should focus on both decreasing depression and increasing social competence. Future studies should test these associations beyond ninth graders in one large metropolitan area in the United States.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Trajectories of acculturation, enculturation, and depressive symptoms: findings from a longitudinal study of Latinx adolescents in Los Angeles
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Ramirez, Carla M., author; Riggs, Nathaniel, advisor; Aichele, Stephen, committee member; Most, David, committee member; Rieker, Julie, committee member
    Acculturation is conceptualized as a dynamic process of change over time within individuals, yet the bulk of the research on acculturation is conducted using cross-sectional, as opposed to longitudinal approaches. Although there is an emerging body of longitudinal work in this area, there are several factors that contribute to within and between-person variation in acculturation that have yet to be explored. Furthermore, research examining the extent to which change over time in acculturation is related to the rate of change in depressive symptoms is scant. This dissertation utilized a longitudinal data set examining acculturation and substance use among a sample of Latinx youth in Los Angeles, California. Survey data assessing cultural processes, stressors, and depressive symptoms was collected in-person and electronically between 2005 and 2018. Study 1 used growth curve modeling to examine the extent to which there was developmental change in acculturation during the period of adolescence and into early adulthood. The results revealed that there was significant change over time in acculturation and that to some extent change over time varied by the generational group. Study 2 examined how change over time in cultural processes (e.g., acculturation, enculturation, and ethnic identity) was related to changes in depressive symptoms and the extent to which these cultural processes moderated the relationship between stressors and depressive symptoms. The results of study 2 elucidated the moderating effects of the rate of change in acculturation on the association between the rate of change in perceived discrimination and the rate of change in depressive symptoms. This study provides new insights for acculturation research regarding change over time in this construct and the importance of considering context when examining the effect of acculturation on depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the combined results of these studies have important implications for the interpretation of previous studies using proxy measures of acculturation that are discussed further in text. Recommendations for improving the mental health and well-being of Latinx youth are also discussed.